This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you.
Charles Barkley is usually hilarious on Inside the NBA. But, for a second on last night’s show, he took a beat from the usual fun to urge a team in the NBA to sign Tony Snell. It was a pretty cool moment.
You’re probably asking “Why in the world is Charles Barkley pushing for Tony Snell to get a roster spot?” Like the rest of us, Barkley found out earlier this week that Snell actually needs it.
The former first-round pick is currently in the G-League trying to scratch and claw his way back onto somebody’s roster for the rest of the season, Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports writes. He’s not doing it for the glory or the fame or the fortune.
Instead, he’s doing it for his two sons, Karter (3) and Kenzo (2).
Both have both been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, Fischer writes. Snell is working to compile his 10th year of service in the NBA so he can get access to the NBPA’s retiree benefits and premium medical plan that would cover his entire family. That’s Snell’s motivation. He needs to be on an active NBA roster by February 9 to get access to the care his family needs.
Like the rest of us, Barkley caught wind of that and was moved by it. He felt so strongly that Snell should get a roster spot that he used his platform on the NBA’s best media property to call on it to happen.
Chuck calls for an NBA team to sign Tony Snell, who is looking to sign with an NBA team by Friday in order to qualify for the players association's retiree benefits.
Snell hopes to qualify for his two children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. pic.twitter.com/Cs3YkuNW83
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 2, 2024
“I’m just saying I hope a team signs him for the rest of the season because I don’t know a lot about autism. I ain’t going to say that. But man, I know it’s got to be expensive to have two young kids with that situation. So I’m hoping the NBA — we always talk about what a family we are. Let’s sign that kid for the rest of the season.”
To Barkley’s point, there are plenty of teams who could do this. Twelve of the 30 teams in the NBA still have at least one open roster spot to stick Tony Snell in until the end of the year, per Spotrac. Two of those teams (the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers) have two spots open.
Plus, it’s not like he wouldn’t be able to contribute to a team. He was hitting 39 percent of his 3-pointers when he last played for New Orleans. At 32 years old, Snell could still potentially be a rotation player and bring value to someone’s team.
Regardless of his value on the court, though, this is a player who needs a bit of help off the court. It’d be nice to see someone reach out and give it to him. You always hear about the NBA being a “brotherhood” or a “fraternity.” Snell was in that for nine and a half long seasons. Now, he needs this.
Make this happen, NBA. Or at least make an exception with his years of service. It shouldn’t take much. Snell is already right there.
Let’s just get him over the finish line in whatever way we can.
Caitlin Clark is chasing history
Caitlin Clark is well on her way to breaking the scoring record for Division I women’s basketball and our Mitchell Northam pinpointed exactly when she’s going to do it.
Kelsey Plum currently holds the record with 3,527 points. Clark is 103 points behind her at 3,424. She just eclipsed Kelsey Mitchell as the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer in Iowa’s win over Northwestern.
“Clark currently trails Plum by 103 points, meaning she would own the record after scoring 104.
This season, Clark is averaging 32.1 points per game, which leads the nation.
Iowa’s next five games are:
- Feb. 3 – at Maryland
- Feb. 8 – vs. Penn State
- Feb. 11 – at Nebraska
- Feb. 15 – vs. Michigan
- Feb. 22 – at Indiana
If Clark maintains her current scoring pace over these next few games, she should enter the Feb. 15 home game against Michigan about eight points shy of the record.”
Circle your calendars, folks!
The Chiefs have beef with everyone
Here’s more from Cory Woodruff on what Bosa had to say:
“As if a Super Bowl needs any additional fire for either team, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa has provided some bulletin-board material for the Kansas City Chiefs.
While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Bosa was asked what he thinks about the Chiefs’ two tackles, Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor, with the latter known for his in-game penalties.
Well, Bosa gave a very blunt, quick answer about his feelings on the Kansas City offensive linemen.
“They hold a lot,” Bosa quipped in response to the question.
If that doesn’t fire up the Chiefs tackles in their upcoming Super Bowl matchup against Bosa, we’re really not sure what will.”
I guess, as Cory said at the top, bulletin-board material isn’t really necessary for either team here. They’re playing for all the marbles. That’s more than enough to get anyone going.
But, man. Bosa sure doesn’t care about giving the Chiefs any extra fuel here, does he? I guess that’s how it goes when you’re as good at your job as he is.
Photo Friday: The calm before the storm
Here’s a look at an empty space outside of Allegiant Stadium in Vegas where the Super Bowl will be played.
Next week, this same space is going to be filled to the brim with people. There won’t be a quiet moment. It’s all going up from here.
Get ready, folks. The Super Bowl is coming.
Quick hits: The NBA All-Star snubs … Missing out on $1.3 million … and more
— The NBA All-Star rosters are here! That means snubs are here, too. Bryan Kalbrosky has you covered with both.
— Speaking of snubs, Domantas Sabonis lost out on a $1.3 million bonus because of his. That’s wild.
— Baker Mayfield hilariously roasted himself at the Pro Bowl for his game-losing interception. Cory has more.
— Joel Embiid is out of the MVP conversation with a meniscus tear. Here’s Mary Clarke with more.f
— Speaking of Mary, here she is again with the NHL All-Star draft roster. This should be fun.
— Ben Fawkes has some good prop bets for Usher’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl. This is the kind of content I crave.
That’s all, folks. Thanks so much for reading today. Have a fantastic weekend. We’ll do this all again on Monday! Until then, peace!
-Sykes ✌️